Source: Aldwell, C.R. 1997. Hydrogeology and sustainable agriculture. Environ. Geol. 32: 93-99.

Agriculture is the artery for the world's food supply. Agriculture at the beginning of the 21st century will have to increase production by 40 % of present-day levels to meet the growing demand for food. Meeting the world's growing food requirement will be putting many stresses on an array of earth's natural systems. Ninety percent of the demand for more food will come from developing countries. The demand for water by agriculture is also going to increase in the next century. Agriculture has negative effects on ground water quality, especially pollution from fertilizers, pesticides, manure, and wastes is getting into groundwater. There are ecological problems with groundwater quality all over the world. Some hydrogeologists are addressing concerns over the amount of groundwater that is being used for agriculture. They stress that groundwater is a limited resource. It is replenished back into aquifers at an extremely slow rate, so it is a resource that should be managed wisely. In 1989 a U.S. Presidential Initiative was created to protect our nation's water resources. In 1990 the European Union (EU) and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) passed a three billion dollar environmental plan to promote environmentally sustainable agriculture practices. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has also recently been advocating a more holistic approach to natural resource management. Hydrogeologists have a key role in the planning of agriculture practices for these international initiatives that will ensure the sustainability of groundwater supplies.

Abstract author: Michael J. Rivera, 6 October 1998.

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